Virginia Spraker named Oneida Area AARP Outstanding Senior Citizen

The lifelong Oneida resident received the Senior Citizen of the Year Award from the Oneida Area AARP at the annual installation banquet.

She has always been an avid volunteer.

Spraker said she began volunteering in 1944 when she served with the American Red Cross as a nurse's aide at night.

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She worked at Oneida Limited during the days as another part of the war effort.

Her volunteer work continues with the Red Cross to this day. She now can often be seen running the canteen at blood drives.

"I volunteer whenever they call me," she said.

Over the years, Spraker has volunteered with the Friends of the Oneida Library, assisting with the collecting and sorting of books for book sales.

She has delivered meals to the elderly for the Meals on Wheels program.

In her spare time, she also donates her time to the First United Methodist Church of Oneida, helping with rummage sales, dinners and the preparation of the bulletins for worship services.

She has been active with the AARP chapter since the 1980s and currently is the historian for the group.

She has received other honors for her volunteerism.

In 1995, she received the Roses for the Living Award from the Oneida Rotary Club for her dedication to causes in the Oneida area.

In 2011, she was presented with the American Red Cross Volunteer of the Year award.

Spraker, who will be 96 years old in February, begins her day at 5:30 a.m. with a swim at the Oneida Y, said her son Gary Spraker.

She still feels comfortable driving, said she will continue to do things as long as she can. She said she does the volunteer work because it makes her feeling like part of the community she has lived in her entire life.